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Brazil Supreme Court judge orders X shutdown in country
STORY: Social media platform X has been immediately suspended from use in Brazil.The decision comes amid a legal battle over the Elon Musk-owned company’s compliance with local laws.On Friday, a Supreme Court judge in Brazil ordered the suspension until all related court orders on X were complied with, including the payment of fines amounting to over $3 million and the nomination of a legal representative in Brazil. In an interview with a local radio station, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Musk needed to respect Brazilian authorities.“He cannot keep on offending presidents, offending deputies, offending senators, offending the congress, offending the Supreme Court. Who does he think he is? Who does he think he is? The next thing is he needs to respect the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court.”The judge’s order is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between the Brazilian Supreme Court justice and Musk.It follows the freezing of Brazilian bank accounts belonging to satellite internet provider Starlink, which is 40% owned by Musk.In a bid to avoid the use of virtual private networks or VPNs to circumvent the blockage, the judge said that individuals or companies who tried to keep access to the social network that way could be fined up to 50,000 reais or close to $9000 a day.Musk, denouncing the order as censorship, responded by closing the platform’s offices in Brazil. X, formerly known as Twitter, said at the time that its services would still be available in Brazil.